EU Credit Card Fraud Migrates to U.S.

A new Europol report suggests the majority of credit card fraud affecting the European Union is being committed in the United States and data breaches to credit card-linked accounts in the U.S. are netting cybercriminals around $2 billion annually.

Card-not-present transactions which included stolen personal data accounted for some 60 percent of European credit card fraud losses in 2012. Card-not present, however, is not the only leading fraud front gaining traction in the U.S., according to Europol. The majority of card-present fraud related to cards issued in Europe also is occurring in the U.S.

Payment card fraud migration to the U.S. is largely attributed to the fact the U.S. is behind most of the international community in embracing EMV and the added security features that accompany the chip-and-pin technology. While EMV is coming to the U.S. market in the coming years, the U.S. joins countries such as Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Russia as leading international hot spots for payment card fraud.

As EMV becomes more prevalent in the U.S. market, payment card fraud will likely migrate elsewhere in the world. In the meantime, however, updating fraud-protection measures and potentially becoming early adopters of EMV standards will help minimize fraud exposure.